Batting tee for baseball and softball

ABSTRACT

A batting tee. A plurality of legs is pivotally connected to a base. A bottom support tube is rigidly connected to the base. A height adjustment tube is inserted into the bottom support tube. The height of the height adjustment tube is controlled by a height adjustment controller. A replaceable ball placement cone is connected to the height adjustment tube. For usage the legs are pivoted so that they are horizontal, the height of the height adjustment tube is selected and a baseball or softball is placed on the ball placement cone. For easy transport and storage, the legs are pivoted upwards so that they are all parallel with the bottom support tube and height adjustment tube.

The present invention relates to baseball and softball training devices, and in particular to batting tees.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Baseball is an extremely popular sport in the United States and as so it is often referred to as America's Pastime. It begins as a youth sport with children as young as 5 or 6 years old playing the game. The kids who really like baseball will hopefully continue to play throughout their childhood. Those kids who have the best skills and interest will play for their high school team. Then only the most highly skilled will play at the college level. Only the very few elite players can then play on a professional level.

Although, most kids stop playing organized baseball prior to high school there is a very strong fan interest in the game. Parents and kids and young adults are very interested in following baseball games at the local, college and professional levels. The sport moves at a very good pace so that it is easy to follow the strategy of the game and appreciate the skill level of the players.

Baseball holds the interest of America. There is tremendous money spent on developing players starting at the youth level and all the way through the professional level. The hitter plays an extremely important role on a team. A great hitter can find his way onto a baseball team much easier than an average or below average hitter. Hence, there are many hitting training devices on the market designed to improve baseball hitting skills

Batting tees have long been in existence and long used by baseball players and softball players to improve their batting skills The batting tee is still considered by many to be the best swing training device available. There are many types of batting tees available to public. However, many of these are expensive, flimsy and need to be frequently replaced. Some tees are not as expensive, but they do not last very long and also need to be frequently replaced. Also, many prior art batting tees require extra weight (such as a heavy bag or an additional lead weight) added to the base of the tee to keep the tee steady and to prevent it from falling over as the tee is being used.

What is needed is a better batting tee for baseball and softball.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a batting tee. A plurality of legs is pivotally connected to a base. A bottom support tube is rigidly connected to the base. A height adjustment tube is inserted into the bottom support tube. The height of the height adjustment tube is controlled by a height adjustment controller. A replaceable ball placement cone is connected to the height adjustment tube. For usage the legs are pivoted so that they are horizontal, the height of the height adjustment tube is selected and a baseball or softball is placed on the ball placement cone. For easy transport and storage, the legs are pivoted upwards so that they are all parallel with the bottom support tube and height adjustment tube.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a preferred base.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show a preferred height adjustment sleeve.

FIG. 5 shows a preferred batting tee ready for storage or transport.

FIG. 6 shows the support legs in a horizontal position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Components of a Preferred Embodiment

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Base 1 provides support for batting tee 2. In the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 1, three legs 4 are pivotally connected to base 1 as shown. Legs 4 pivot about bolt axis 5 which is attached through hole 6 (FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 1, spring loaded pull pins 7 are connected to legs 4 and engage slots 8 (FIG. 2) to hold legs 4 in a horizontal position.

Bottom support tube 9 is rigidly bolted to base 1. Height adjustment sleeve 10 is bolted to bottom support tube 9 via set screw 11. Height adjustment tube 12 is inserted into bottom support tube 9 through height adjustment sleeve 10. In a preferred embodiment, height adjustment tube 12 includes a height-stop mechanism that functions to prevent the separation of height adjustment tube from height adjustment sleeve 10 if the user raises height adjustment tube to its maximum height. For example, in one preferred embodiment height adjustment tubes 12 includes two button head screws attached to its lower end. The heads of the button head screws are just large enough to prevent the whole top part of the unit from being adjusted too much and separating. The button head screws are stopped by the smaller diameter of height adjustment sleeve 10.

The vertical position of height adjustment tube 12 can be adjusted by the user as desired by loosening and then tightening a height adjustment controller. For example in the preferred embodiment shown the height adjustment controller is threaded knob 13 and the height of height adjustment tube 12 is adjusted by loosening and then tightening threaded knob 13.

Preferred Height Adjustment Sleeve

FIGS. 3 and 4 show details of preferred height adjustment sleeve 10. In FIG. 3, set screw 11 has been turned so that pressure pad 68 is pressed tightly against bottom support tube 9. Threaded knob 13 has been loosened. Height adjustment tube 12 can now be moved up or down to its desired location. To secure height adjustment tube 12 at its desired position the user will turn threaded knob 13 so that pressure pad 67 presses tightly against height adjustment tube 12.

Ball Placement Cone

Ball placement cone 37 (FIG. 6) is connected to the top of height adjustment tube 12 and is fabricated to easily hold a baseball or softball. After cone 37 is inserted in to height adjustment tube 12, it is held in place by tightening of set screw 38.

Stowage, Transport and Set Up

FIG. 5 shows batting tee 2 as it has been folded for storage or transport. In the position shown in FIG. 5, batting tee 2 is approximately 28.5 inches in height and approximately 8 inches in width at its base. In a preferred embodiment batting tee 2 weights approximately 8.5 pounds. Also, in a preferred embodiment batting tee 2 may be adjusted between a lower use position of 28.5 inches and an upper use position of 43.5 inches in height. It can easily be stowed into a carrying bag and carried by an 8 year old child of ordinary strength.

In FIG. 6 the user has batting tee 2 upright so that it is resting on base 1.

In FIGS. 6 and 1 the user has disengaged pull pins 7 from upper slots and has pivoted legs 4 downward to their horizontal position. Pull pins 7 are engaged in lower slots 8 (FIG. 2) to lock legs 4 into the horizontal position. As shown in FIG. 1, height adjustment tube has been extended so that the top of ball placement cone 37 is now approximately 43.5 inches off the ground in its upper use position. A baseball or softball may now be placed on top of cone 37. Batting tee 2 is now ready for use. It should be noted that the utilization of horizontal legs 4 allow for outstanding stability of batting tee 2 while also insuring that batting tee 2 is extremely light in weight at only approximately 8.5 pounds. No additional weight is needed around base 1 to increase stability while the batting tee is being used.

When the user is finished using batting tee 2, he can put batting tee 2 back into the position shown in FIG. 5 by reversing the above described steps.

Preferred Materials

In a preferred embodiment base 1, bottom support tube 9, and height adjustment sleeve 10 are fabricated from aluminum. Aluminum provides high strength and is light weight. Height adjustment tube 12 is preferably fabricated from strong, flexible plastic and cone 37 is preferably fabricated from strong flexible rubber.

Durability

Batting tee 2 is extremely durable and it is expected to last for many years of use without sustaining significant damage. Cone 37 is fabricated from a flexible rubbery material and will take the most contact from a baseball bat as it is swung at the batting tee. It is estimated that currently the user will be able to easily replace cone 37 with a new cone for under approximately seven U.S. dollars. In most cases it will only be necessary to replace cone 37 every other year, even under heavy usage. Height adjustment tube 12 may also occasionally receive contact from a bat. Usually it should not require replacement. However, if replacement is ever needed, it is estimated that the user can replace height adjustment tube 12 for under seventeen dollars. All other materials of batting tee two are very strong and durable and should not require replacement.

Prototype

Applicant has successfully built and tested a prototype of batting tee 2. He has had very positive feedback from adults and children. Expert baseball players as well as beginners have found great benefit from batting tee 2.

Although the above-preferred embodiments have been described with specificity, persons skilled in this art will recognize that many changes to the specific embodiments disclosed above could be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, although the above preferred embodiments disclosed batting tee 2 having specific dimensions it should be understood that batting tee 2 can be fabricated so that it is shorter or taller, depending on the height or needs of the user. For example a very tall batter may prefer a taller batting tee. Likewise a very small child (or a batter who wishes to work on low pitched balls) may prefer a shorter batting tee. For example, in another preferred embodiment bottom support tube 9 and height adjustment tube 12 are shortened so that batting tee 2 is height adjustable from a range of 20 inches to 28.5 inches. Therefore, the attached claims and their legal equivalents should determine the scope of the invention. 

What is claimed is: 1) A batting tee, comprising: A) a base, B) a plurality of legs pivotally connected to said base, C) a bottom support tube rigidly connected to said base, D) a height adjustment tube insertable into said bottom support tube, E) a height adjustment controller connected to said bottom support tube and said height adjustment tube, said height adjustment controller for adjusting the height of said height adjustment tube, and F) a replaceable ball placement cone connected to said height adjustment, said ball placement cone for receiving a baseball or softball, wherein said batting tee is adjustable in height between a lower use position and an upper use position. 2) The batting tee as in claim 1, wherein said batting tee is foldable for easy carrying and storage by pivoting said plurality of legs so that they are parallel with said bottom support tube and said height adjustment tube. 3) The batting tee as in claim 1, wherein said height adjustment controller is a height adjustment sleeve bolted to said bottom support tube and threaded knob for loosening and tightening against said height adjustment tube. 4) The batting tee as in claim 1, wherein said base comprises a lockable horizontal pivot location for horizontal placement of said plurality of legs and wherein said base comprises a lockable vertical pivot location for vertical placement of said legs for easy transport and storage. 5) The batting tee as in claim 4, wherein each leg of said plurality of legs comprises at least one spring loaded pin for locking each said leg into said lockable horizontal pivot location and said for locking each said leg into said vertical pivot location. 6) The batting tee as in claim 1, wherein said ball placement cone is fabricated from flexible rubber. 7) The batting tee as in claim 1, wherein said height adjustment tube is fabricated from flexible plastic. 